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Music festival guide 2010
Home or away, we’ve got a break down of this year’s musical festivities
You don’t have to travel far to find a music festival these days. As soon as summer hits, the festival bug spreads like wildfire. There are now festivals to suit all manner of music fan.
There are the biggies – Summerfest in Wisconsin, USA is the world’s largest music festival, attracting between 800,000 and 1,000,000 visitors each year. Others are small and friendly – local festival, Beat Herder, caters for a crowd of just 8,000. Unfortunately it’s also the smaller festivals that often fall victim to festival giants such as Glastonbury, as they struggle for funding.
Hundreds of music fans have been waiting more than a year for refunds after buying tickets for Brighton's Beachdown Festival and the Big Green Gathering in Somerset. Both were due to take place last summer but were cancelled days before the gates were due to open.
Sadly this year, we can also wave goodbye to the Mad Ferret Festival on Platt Fields Park in Manchester. The good news however, is that Parklife festival will be picking up where Mad Ferret left off as Platt Fields celebrates its 100th year. Creamfields, of course, will have them tent-pole dancing on the grassy plains of Daresbury come August Bank Holiday, but if you can't wait for that or like your own little bed too much, Liverpool Sound City is just around the corner in May with Gil Scott Heron and the like on your own doorstep.
If none of the local or national festivities appeal to you, there’s also the option of festivals abroad. These have grown in popularity thanks to the cheap flight deals and the variety of musical genres available. Kill two birds with one stone by topping up your tan to top tunes.
We’ve created a list of festivals, big and small, far and wide, to tickle your eardrums. Of course there are many more festivals going on this year, so if you have your own recommendations, rant your suggestions below this article. Happy festive.
LOCAL FESTIVALSSounds from the Other City
Who: Line up TBA. Previous years have included Marina and the Diamonds and The Tings Tings.
Where: Chapel Street, Salford and surrounding areas
When: Sunday 2 May
FutureEverything (formerly known as Futuresonic)
Who: Ryoji Ikeda, Konono No.1, Omar Souleyman, Mika Vainio and more.
Where: Various Manchester locations
When: Wednesday 12, Thursday 13, Friday 14 and Saturday 15 May
Sound City
Who: Gil Scott-Heron, Paloma Faith, Delphic, The Maccabees, The Fall, Speech Debelle and more
Where: Various stages, Liverpool city centre
When: Wednesday 19, Thursday 20, Friday 21, Saturday 22 May
Hungry Pigeon
Who: Kid British, Athlete, Reverent Soundsystem, Karima Francis, Vinny Peculiar and more
Where: Northern Quarter, Manchester
When: Saturday 22, Sunday 23, Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 May
Eurocultured
Who: Broke’n’English, Morena, Daywalkers, DJ Woody, Riot Jazz and more
Where: New Wakefield Street and Great Marlborough Street, Manchester city centre
When: Sunday 30 and Monday 31 May
Park Life
Who: Calvin Harris, Friendly Fires, Four Tet, Kissy Sellout, Erol Alkan and more
Where: Platt Fields Park, Fallowfield, Manchester
When: Saturday 12 June
Beat-Herder
Who: The Lancashire Hotpots, Chew Lips, Utah Saints and more
Where: The Ribble Valley, Lancashire
When: Friday 2, Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 July
Kendal Calling
Who: Calvin Harris, The Futureheads, DJ Yoda, Erol Allkan, Wild Beasts, Dub Pistols and more
Where: Lowther Deer Park, Lake District
When: Friday 30, Saturday 31 July and Sunday 1 August
Creamfields
Who: David Guetta, Tiesto, Deadmau5, Paul Van Dyk, Annie Mac and more
Where: Daresbury, Halton, Cheshire
When: Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 August
Isle of Wight
Who: Paul McCartney, Jay-Z, The Strokes, Blondie, Pink, Orbital, Editors, Paloma Faith, La Roux and Marina and the Diamonds and more.
Where: Newport, Isle of Wight
When: Friday 11, Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 June
Glastonbury
Who: Line up TBA. Last year’s line up included Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young Lady Gaga, Bon Iver, Tom Jones, The Specials, Blur and The Prodigy.
Where: Worthy Farm, Pilton
When: Wednesday 23, Thursday 24, Friday 25, Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 June
Wireless
Who: Jay-Z, Lily Allen, Pink, The Ting Tings, Gossip, Plan B, Missy Elliott, LCD Soundsystem and more.
Where: Hyde Park, London
When: Friday 2, Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 July
Hop Farm
Who: Bob Dylan, Ray Davies, Peter Doherty, Mumford & Sons, Seasick Steve, Laura Marling, The Magic Numbers and more.
Where: The Hop Farm, Paddock Wood, Kent
When: Saturday 3 July
Latitude
Who: Belle and Sebastian, Florence and the Machine, Vampire Weekend, Grizzly Bear, The Horrors, The National and more.
Where: Southwold, Suffolk
When: Thursday 15, Friday 16, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July
Glade
Who: Orbital, Simian Mobile Disco, Tricky, Jeff Mills, Wally Lopez, Magnetic Man and more.
Where: Matterly Bowl near Winchester
When: Friday 16, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July
Lovebox
Who: Grace Jones, Roxy Music, Dizzee Rascal, Mystery Jets, Paloma Faith, Noisettes, The Macabees, Ellie Goulding and more.
Where: Victoria Park, London
When: Friday 16, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July
Secret Garden Party
Who: Gorillaz Sound System, Mercury Rev, Marina and the Diamonds The Whip, Kate Walsh and more.
Where: Near Huntington, Cambridgeshire
When: Thursday 22, Friday 23, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 July.
High Voltage
Who: ZZ Top, Elp, Heaven and Hell, Black Label Society, The Answer, Joe Bonamassa and more.
Where: Victoria Park, London
When: Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 July
Big Chill
Who: Massive Attack, Zero 7 (DJ set), Tinie Tempah, Spencer Tuncik and more
Where: Eastnor Castle, Ledbury, Herefordshire
When: Thursday 5, Friday 6, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 August
Green Man
Who: Joanna Newson, Doves, Flaming Lips, Beirut and more.
Where: Glanusk Park, Breacon Breacons National Park, Wales
When: Friday 20, Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 August.
V Festival
Who: Kings of Leon, Kasabian, Faithless, Stereophonics, Paul Weller, David Guetta, Cheryl Cole and more
Where: Hylands Park near Chelmsford and Weston Park, Weston-under-Lizard
When: Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 August.
Reading / Leeds
Who: Guns n Roses, Queen of the Stone Age, The Libertines, Blink 182, Cypress Hill and more.
Where: Reading, Berkshire and Bramham Park, Leeds
When: Friday 27, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 August
Bestival
Who: The Prodigy, Flaming Lips, Hot Chip. LCD Soundsystem, The Temper Trap, Simian Mobile Disco, Delphic, Ellie Goulding.
Where: Robin Hill Country Park, Isle of Wight
When: Thursday 9, Friday 10 and Saturday 11 September.
Summerfest (USA)
Who: Public Enemy, Sheryl Crow, Jeff Beck, The Roots, Tim McGraw, Justin Bieber and more
Where: Henry Maier Festival Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
When: Thursday 24 June – Sunday 4 July
Hove (Norway)
Who: Muse, Massive Attack, Nas and Damian Marley, Dizzee Rascal and more
Where: Arendal, Norway
When: Tuesday 29, Wednesday 30 June and Thursday 1, Friday 2 July
Arras Main Square Festival (France)
Who: Jamiroquai, The Black Eyed Peas, Pink, Pearl Jam, Ben Harper, Gossip, Florence and the Machine, Stereophonics, La Roux and more
Where: Citadel of Arras, General De Gaulle’s Boulevard, Arras in the Nord - Pas-de-Calais
When: Friday 2, Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 July
Exit (Serbia)
Who: The Chemical Brothers, Missy Elliott, Mika, Placebo and more
Where: Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad, Serbia
When: Thursday 8, Friday 9, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 July
Benacassim (Spain)
Who: The Prodigy, Kasabian, Dizzee Rascal, Leftfield, Vampire Weekend and more
Where: Benicassim, Spain
When: Thursday 15, Friday 16, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July
Melt (Germany)
Who: Goldfrapp, Friendly Fires, Jamie T, Jamie Lidell, Massive Attack and more
Where: Ferropolis, Germany
When: Friday 16, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 July
Soundwave (Croatia)
Who: Bullion, Cinematic Orchestra, DJ Vadim, Benji B and more
Where: Petrcane, Croatia
When: Friday 23, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 July
Fuji Rocks (Japan)
Who: Air, Ian Brown, MGMT, Vampire Weekend, Corrine Bailey-Rae
Where: Naeba Ski Resort, Japan
When: Friday 30, Saturday 31 July and Sunday 1 August
Pukkelpop (Belgium)
Who: Iron Maiden, Queens of the Stone Age, Placebo, The Kooks, The Prodigy and more.
Where: Hasselt, Belgium
When: Thursday 19, Friday 20 and Saturday 21 August
Iceland Airwaves (Iceland)
Who: Line up TBA. Previous years have included Suede, The Flaming Lips, The Hives, Fatboy Slim, Florence and the Machine, White Lies and more.
Where: Reykjavík, Iceland
When: Thursday 14, Friday 15, Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 October
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How could you miss the Wicker Man Festival? Or Latitude? Or Solfest?